


It Seemed Better Across the Ocean (And Maybe it is)

by WhisperArtist



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Harry Hook, Blood, Bruises, Harry Hook Flirts, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Descendants 2, Protective Harry Hook, Swearing, Sweet Gil (Disney: Descendants), Tattoos, United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, We Die Like Men, talking about death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-07 08:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20306848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhisperArtist/pseuds/WhisperArtist
Summary: When the Rotten Four left for Auradon, they left a lot of things behind. Cecelia de Vil was one of those things. She reforged her alliances in order to survive, but as soon as she left the Isle she realized they were more than that. She's determined to bring the rest of her family home, and it turns out that's the easiest part. The hard part? Finding a way to keep a Hook from looking for trouble and a Gaston from stumbling into it.





	1. Obligatory Character Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> Actually story starts in the next chapter

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't do this, but since I'm about to mess with characters that belong to a book series I have never read, I feel that I should. So, yeah, I've never read the books series that is aligned with the movies in whatever way and any information on the characters I will be playing with from these books comes from other fanfics and that's about it. Also, we're completely ignoring Wicked World for those of you who watched that.

First Up, my Ocs:  
\- Cecelia de Vil: She usually goes by CeCe and is Carlos's older sister. She's been affiliated with many of the gangs on the Isle including Mal's gang, Uma's Crew and Freddie's (coming later) bandits. Bad-mouthed but protective, she's known for helping patch up anyone regardless of their gang.

\- Francine Facilier: Goes by Freddie and is a pirate captain as well as Uma's great rival (after Mal). She's one hell of a con artist and loves to pick fights. She and Harry dated on and off when she was on the main part of the Isle. She had since moved to the far side with her father and sister.

\- Harriet Hook (Only mentioned for now): Based off of some [casting headcanons](https://cjhooks.tumblr.com/post/183034536017/the-hook-siblings-ft-mine-and) I found a few days ago Harriet is going to be non-binary and more commonly referred to as H.

\- CJ Hook (Only mentioned for now): Based off of the same headcanons appearance-wise. She's also a raging lesbian.

And characters you already know:

\- Harry Hook: World's most chaotic bi and he knows it. Will flirt with anything that moves but will never be serious enough about anything to leave Gil because he loves him more than words.

\- Gil: Actually the sweetest person on this Earth. Super gay but also an A-spec. Too good for this world. He's just an angel


	2. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a headcanon out there that says that no one stays dead on the Isle. I'm going to stick by that headcanon. I don't know how big of a role it will play in the story, but it is mentioned in this chapter.

Cecilia de Vil hated to admit it, but she was dependent. She was never able to handle long periods alone especially since Carlos had left the Isle for Auradon Prep. Sure she was happy, ecstatic even, that her little brother was getting the chance to be away from their violent mother but that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t want to be alone.

It took less than a week for Uma and her gang to move into what was once the VK’s territory. Ever since Freddie, the eldest daughter of Dr. Faciller, had moved to the far side of the Isle the daughter of Ursula had gotten cocky even when Mal was still around. CeCe couldn’t fight off Uma’s crew and she didn’t have Freddie and her pirates to back her up anymore. In less than a week CeCe completely surrendered Mal’s territory and retreated to the outskirts of her home. Even Uma wasn’t stupid enough to invade the area which stayed under Mal and Freddie’s joint control. She wouldn’t risk the attention of the four worst villains on the Isle.

For the next few months, CeCe didn’t leave the little bit of safe space she had unless strictly necessary. Luckily for her, she still had friends in Uma’s crew that were willing to help instead of dragging her to the Lost Revenge the moment she stepped out of her territory. Harry had been reluctant at first, unlike Gil who was eager to help. All CeCe had to do to win Harry over was mention the many times she had patched Gil up over the years. Very few people that ever met Gil could actually hate him and out of everyone, Harry was the most protective. CeCe couldn’t even count the number of times he had risked his life to carry an injured Gil to Hell Hall. 

As long as CeCe stayed in the shadows she was fine. She didn’t have to worry about any of the other gangs bugging her, very few of them were ballsy enough to try anything around the eldest de Vil, and as far as Uma knew she never left her safe space. Sure she was alone all the time, but she didn’t have to worry about getting killed every night she opted to stay outside versus in Hell Hall with her insane mother. Life wasn’t exactly good, but it hadn’t been before all the crap started anyway.

Things stayed like that for a few months and then CeCe’s saving grace returned. Freddie came waltzing into her territory with a smile under the disguise of a glare as she asked what the hell had happened to her territory. CeCe pledged her allegiance to Freddie right then and there and the two along with her crew started ripping their territory from Uma’s grasp. As soon as Harry found out the Freddie was back he grabbed Gil and returned to her side. Uma was pissed that he had returned to his once upon a time girlfriend and the rivalry only grew stronger.

For a few months, CeCe had an imitation of her family back again. She missed her little brother more than words could ever describe, but being in a group again helped ease that pain to a much more manageable ache. She was content for the first time in almost a year… And then the letter came. A letter from Auradon. From King Ben. A letter asking her to come to Auradon Prep and attended classes with the Rotten Four. With Carlos. Freddie called her a traitor, but CeCe couldn’t stay, and Freddie didn’t really mean it anyway. She said goodbye to everyone and packed, getting into the limo with barely any hesitation when it came to collect her.

Carlos and the other members of the VKs were waiting for her when she got to Auradon. She hugged her brother like she never hugged him before and then she did the same for the rest of the VKs. Sure, they were asses, but they were her family too. Jay even got a kiss on the check for watching out for her baby brother. They took her to her dorm room before ushering her to the boys’ room where she filled them in on what happened while they were away. She told them about Uma and Freddie. About how Harry and Gil left Uma for Freddie. She put special emphasis on the fact that Harry and Gil had gotten back together again.

“It’s about damn time,” Mal said. “They’ve been on and off for how many years now?”

“Since we were thirteen at least,” Jay said.

“I can’t believe it!” Evie added. “Those two are a match made in heaven even though Harry still manages to ignore it.”

“Harry will get back with Uma at least one more time,” Carlos said, earning him a look. “What? We all know Harry’s stubborn. He’s not going to give up on her until he’s forced to because his dad’s a prick.”

No one could dispute Carlos’s point. Everyone that hung out even close to the docks was aware of how homophobic Hook was, especially with Harry. CeCe vividly remembered the bruises Harry had when he was thirteen. Purple handprints and other various marks decorated his skin for months when Hook found out that his son was dating Gil. Of course, Harry refused to relent partially to spite his father but mostly because of how undeniably, madly in love the pair was. Their relationship only ended because Hook started going after Gil and Harry refused to put him in any danger.

“Well, that never stopped the other two, so I doubt he’ll be keeping Harry down much longer,” CeCe said after a moment of silence. It was ironic how such a hateful man could end up with three LGBT children. “Especially when they finally get to Auradon.”

CeCe couldn’t help the fear that crawled up from her stomach and settled in her heart when she saw the faces that her friends and brother made when she said that. It was as if they had given up on the idea of any other Ise kids coming over. As if they were resigned to leave them all there to suffer with their violent parents and dangerous surroundings, sure to cause more than a few deaths. Part of her wanted to laugh, to ask if they truly intended to give up, but she knew the answer. Without a word she got up and fled the room.

Carlos finally caught up to her as she collapsed in one of the school’s many gardens, heaving sobs and tears flowing freely. She knew that they didn’t always get along with the crew of the Lost Revenge, mostly by Mal’s design, but she couldn’t imagine that they would be willing to leave them to suffer. Even after everything, they were good kids. They accepted her into their fold even though she used to run with the Core Four. They trusted her, and she trusted them, and now she had a hand in betraying them.

“I can’t believe you would just leave them,” she said between sobs, flinching away from her brother’s attempt to touch her. “Sure, we didn’t always get along, but they have it just like we did, you know that. You’ve _seen_ it. All the times I had to patch up Gil and Harry or they dragged me onto Hook’s ship because H and CJ are stubborn. And we’re just abandoning them.”

“No one said that we aren’t still trying,” Carlos finally said as CeCe wiped the tears and snot from her face. “Most of Auradon is still scared of _us._ Ben had a hard enough time convincing them to let you come over.”

CeCe sniffled and leaned into Carlos. “It still feels so wrong. They stood by me for months after you guys left. They’re as much of my family as you guys are.”

“I know,” he said, gently petting her hair. Since when did she let her baby brother comfort her? “We’ll figure something out eventually, I promise.”

* * *

A week after their little trip back to the Isle and fight with Uma CeCe all but stormed into Ben’s office, forcing his attention and her issue. He had seen the Ise, the horrible conditions, for himself and it was time they did something about it. CeCe couldn’t spend another day thinking about the fading marks and bruises she spotted on Harry and Gil in the few hours she had seen them. With Uma gone, she knew it could only get worse.

“I want Harry and Gill off the Isle.” It was a demand disguised as a request, but she knew Ben wouldn’t miss the implications of her tone. “As well as H and CJ, but they're not a priority. Harry and Gil are.”

Ben’s look of sympathy pulled a feral desire to growl as well as the desire to punch him in the face from deep within her core, both of which she barely contained. “CeCe, you know it’s not that easy.”

“Bullshit,” she spat. “You’re the goddamn king, you can do whatever the hell you want. You’re just too caught up with approval. You care more about a bunch of stuck up pricks that call themselves royalty then the kids getting the crap kicked out of them on the Ise.”

“Don’t say that,” Ben said, an edge to his words that CeCe couldn’t quite place. “You know that’s not true.”

“Than _do_ something,” she pleaded. “You were so willing to give Uma her second chance, so where’s theirs?”

Ben sighed, slumping back into his chair. “I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise anything.” He looked at her as if he was staring into her soul. “I can tell they mean a lot to you.”

CeCe let out a bitter laugh. “Harry scared the crap out of Carlos for years and Gil is one of the most naive, sweetest people I have ever met. Of course, they mean a lot to me.” They shared a moment of silence before CeCe left, praying that this would turn in her favor. She was also glaringly aware of the fact that even if Ben could pull this off, it wouldn’t guarantee that Harry and Gil would even come to Auradon. She probably would have stayed on the Isle if Carlos hadn’t left. Okay, that probably wasn’t true, but the point still stood. Harry and Gil had a crew, some sense of families, albeit shitty ones, and each other. They had more than most.

CeCe sighed, _One step at a time._ First Ben needed to work his kingly magic and get their invitations sent. After that, she would have to hope that Gil wanted to leave the Isle as much as she wanted them to. Anything Gil wants he's almost certain to get around Harry, so as long as Gil was sold Harry would follow. The idea of waiting was stressing her out, she would be in for one hell of a time if Ben could pull this off.


	3. The Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, using more headcanons. The tattoos come from [here.](https://kindofchaoticgood.tumblr.com/post/186623410781/harry-hook-tattoo-headcanons-ft-uma-triskelion)

If there was one thing Harry Hook never expected to see, it was an official letter from Auradon. And his day had been going so well too. He had walked around the docks scaring the crap out of the people there. He tormented the only man who decided to stand up to him and only decided to let him live because he didn’t feel like cleaning blood off of his hook. He watched the crew of the Lost Revenge practice sword fighting and even managed to not feel crushed when he thought about Uma. Things always go wrong at some point during his day, so around noon, he realized that he had yet to see Gil. He hunted down the idiot twins who denied seeing him at all so he stuck to wandering, finding his boyfriend near the Jolly Roger, beat to hell, with a letter from Auradon in his hand.

Well, Harry refused to let that stand so as soon as he was sure Gil would be okay (damn did he miss having CeCe around when shit like this happened) he stalked over to the Gaston house. He didn’t kill Gaston, Gil was too sentimental for his own good and never liked when Harry killed his family, but he did leave the man in a position where he wouldn’t be able to hurt his first mate for quite a while. That is if he doesn’t die along the way, but Gaston was always too stubborn to take the easy way of recovering from beatings.

Once that was taken care of and Gil was safely on the Lost Revenge, he dared to venture home for the first time in at least a week. If Gil had gotten a letter he was sure that someone else on the Isle did as well. He didn’t expect the prisses over in Auradon to want _him_, but he also knew who was over there. Sure, they hadn’t open Gil’s letter yet, but this had Cecelia de Vil written all over it. And sure enough, there it was. Sitting on the kitchen table mocking him. 

“Better hide that thing before Dad gets back,” CJ said when she came in to see him glaring at the letter. “He’ll kick your ass.”

“Fuck off,” he snapped, turning his glare towards his little sister who just smirked in response. “Aren’t you supposed to be with H anyway?”

“Kicked me off for being annoying,” CJ replied, plopping down on one of the kitchen chairs. “So, you going to open that or…”

“And let you see it? No way in hell.” Tucking the letter into his jacket, Harry turned, intending to leave and go back to the Lost Revenge. It was bad enough that CJ had seen him, H would be storming up the gangplank demanding to know what the hell he was doing at home. He needed to get back to makes sure the crew hadn’t done anything stupid since their acting captain was gone and their first mate got the crap kicked out of him. That would apparently have to wait since he came face to face with James Hook.

* * *

CeCe watched the Isle from the shores of Auradon, letting out the breath she didn’t know she was holding as the barrier shimmered as it closed. Ben had actually pulled it off. Harry and Gil were coming to Auradon. H and CJ would be next and then who knew what other VKs would follow. CeCe couldn’t help but hope Freddie would, bringing her younger sister with. That would be the day, having the Faciliers causing mischief and scamming people across Auradon. 

CeCe caught a glimpse of the limo over the water and couldn’t help but smile. She headed up towards the school where everyone else was waiting. Well, Ben, Doug, Jane, and the Core Four anyway. As soon as the other kids at Auradon Prep caught wind that members of Uma’s crew were coming they practically hid. Mal had managed to convince Fairy Godmother that she would be more helpful trying to calm down the other students rather than welcoming Harry and Gil. Thank god for that because Harry would probably turn right around if he had to deal with her so soon. In all honesty, CeCe could barely handle the women.

The Core Four was lounging around in the courtyard when she got there. The tension in their bodies wasn’t nearly as obvious as the three AKs. Jane was practically hiding behind Carlos and Doug looked one fright away from doing the same with Evie. Mal and Jay were the most relaxed, though it was hard to miss the way they had strategically put themselves in front of Carlos and Evie, Jay hovering at Mal’s side like he did back on the Isle. They were expecting a fight, and she couldn’t blame them. The last time anyone had seen Gil and Harry they were holding Ben hostage. 

“Relax guys, even if the wanted to cause trouble they aren’t stupid enough to try anything so outnumbered,” CeCe reasoned, sitting on one of the stone flowerbeds. “It’s not like they have anything to gain by being assholes. Well, more of assholes.”

“They could try and free their parents,” Jane said, a small quiver in her voice. “That’s why your parents let you come over.”

“Harry and Gil aren’t the helping family type,” Mal said. “Harry’s more likely to laugh at his siblings than anything.”

“He almost gutted me when I made fun of H,” Jay said as if recalling a pleasant memory. “Then they stabbed me in the back themselves.” 

“He threatened me when I encouraged CJ’s style,” Evie added. “He didn’t do anything because H backed me.”

Mal sighed, a small smile appearing on her face. “Okay, he’d do anything for them, but definitely not his father. It’s not like Gil would help Gaston with anything either.”

“Those men got off light being put on the Isle,” CeCe said, not being able to help the venom in her tone. “At least some villains on the Isle tried to be parents. They just got drunk and swore they would get revenge.”

Everyone glanced back at her, but no one said anything. It wasn’t as if Mal or Jay or Evie didn’t have it bad growing up, but they all knew it could have been worse. Hell, even she and Carlos could have been worse off, as hard as that was to imagine. There was a reason gangs were so prevalent on the Isle. How else were they supposed to get some semblance of a family or at least someone who cared if they lived or died every night?

The next two minutes were silent as they waited for the limo to pull up, standing when they saw the black car. CeCe stood at the front of the group as the car pulled up to the curb, putting herself even in front of Ben. She knew they would react better if she was the first person they saw instead of the king of a country they were still unsure about. She was once again very glad that Fairy Godmother wasn't there.

The door opened at Harry was the first one out, eyes sweeping across the area before he even stepped out of the car. CeCe was far from surprised to see him in his blood-red coat with hook in hand, eyes lined though not as dramatically as they could be. What did surprise he was the way he winced ever so slightly when he straightened up. Gil followed, and CeCe was suddenly reminded of why she had wanted a far less conspicuous way of inviting the two boys to come to Auradon. He was wearing his vest exposing the fact that most of his arms were decorated in the ugly purple color of day-old bruises. The color crawled across what she could see of his shoulder and chest, not to mention the fact that some of them were in the shape of hands.

CeCe took all of this in but didn’t let any of her worry or fury cross her face. Instead, she flashed them a cocky smile and cross her hands across her chest, further displaying the anchor tattoo on her right bicep and the red, green, and purple feathers that decorated her skin just below. Harry smirked at the display. 

“What took you dumbasses so long?” She asked. “We’ve been waiting for ages.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, big bad de Vil, oh wait,” Harry shot back, eyes shining. Apparently, he missed her as much as she missed him. “I always outrank you.”

“Bullshit,” she fired back. “Even your dumbass knows that Freddie likes me more than you.” They stared at each other for another few seconds before CeCe let out an airy chuckle, her cocky expression melting into a real smile. “God, you’re such an idiot.” Without another word, she wrapped them both in a hug. 

“We missed you,” Gil said, burying his face in the crook of her neck. She laughed and they pulled away. “Figured someone had to say it normally.”

“I would have gotten there eventually,” she said with a wink. “Well, I guess I should let the king do his speech then. The fun comes later.”

With that, Ben started on some long speech that CeCe didn’t really pay attention too. He introduced the AKs that were there and then took them on the tour of the school, Harry smirking at the way the students in the halls did whatever they could to stay a far away from them as they could. Gil looked slightly put off. CeCe knew that the kids of Auradon Prep would warm up to the two given enough time, she just hoped that Harry wouldn’t make it any harder for them.

After a short lecture about the rules -- Harry rolled his eyes when Ben said “No fighting”. That would be fun to deal with -- he finally took them to their dorm, a short walk from Jay and Carlos’s room. After an awkward moment, everyone walked off to class, leaving CeCe alone with Harry and Gil. 

“Welcome to Auradon Prep then,” Harry muttered.

“It’s not that bad,” CeCe said. “You’re going to _love_ your room. Trust me.”

CeCe unlocked the door and tossed a key to each of them. Without pausing, she opened the door and lead them in, resisting the urge to laugh as they gawked at the space. Harry promptly collapsed on the bed closest to the door, Gil following and sitting on the edge. Harry fucking Hook was _smiling_ and CeCe was witnessing it. This day was officially one of the best of her life; Harry Hook was actually smiling and it wasn’t because of Gil.

“Wow, don’t go and die now Hook,” she said, after letting him have his moment, joining them on the bed. “It gets better and I think a few people will miss you. Mainly your boyfriend and a certain pair of older and younger pirates that should be following you guys here.”

“Yup, you’ve gone and ruined it,” Harry joked.

“H and CJ are coming?” Gil asked, suddenly so hopeful that CeCe wanted to cry.

“Of course. We can’t have one Hook here without bringing the Overlord Bitch and Tiny Asshole over too,” CeCe responded.

“I’d love to watch H strangle you when they heard that nickname,” Harry said.

“You think I haven’t called them that to their face?” CeCe asked incredulously. Did Harry even remember who he was talking to?

“H loved it and gave us permission to call them that whenever,” Gil added, bumping her with his shoulder. Harry gave them a suspicious look before deciding he didn’t care and laying back down. 

“Whatever. We don’t have to do anything today right?” 

“Not until dinner,” CeCe said, checking her watch. “Which is in four hours.”

“Cool. Wake me up then.” Less than a minute later he was snoring lightly. Gil just shrugged and crawled over, falling asleep next to Harry just as fast. With nothing better to do, CeCe got up and sat on the bench seat in the window, content to play on her phone until dinner. How fast the boys trusted her to have their backs again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I suck at dialogue between more than two people, but hopefully, this isn't awful? I promise Gil will get to talk more in the next chapter. I also don't think I've ever really written from a character's POV that's not my Ocs, so hopefully, Harry's part doesn't suck either.


End file.
